Public Debate For & Against Immigration (College Board AP® US History)

Summary

As large numbers of immigrants came to the United States during the Gilded Age, the public noticed changes within their communities and country. Some Americans welcomed immigrants, advocating for assimilation as a way of integrating them into the nation’s culture and economy. Others resisted this change, viewing immigrants as a threat to the nation’s traditional values. Responses ranged from organized nativism and discriminatory policies, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, to efforts aimed at assimilation through settlement houses and social reform programs.

Immigration Restrictions & Assimilation Pressures

Nativism 

• Nativism refers to the belief that native-born Americans were superior to immigrants

  • The belief states that those born in America should have more rights and opportunities than those who came to the country

• Nativists sought to restrict the influence of immigrants on American culture 

  • They feared that new cultures would weaken traditional American values

• Nativism was particularly strongly opposed to Jewish and Catholic immigrants

  • They were seen as incompatible with the dominant Protestant immigrants in the United States

• Nativists pushed for legal restrictions to decrease or stop immigration

Key Nativist figures and organizations

• Henry Cabot Lodge was a nativist and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

  • Lodge worked to limit the number of immigrants coming to the United States

    • He especially did not want immigrants from countries that were not mostly Anglo-Saxon 

  • He saw immigrants as an inferior race who would dilute the United States through mixed marriages

• The American Protective Association was a powerful anti-Catholic organization 

  • It advocated for laws that restricted Catholic immigration

• Many labor unions also opposed immigration

  • They argued that immigrants were willing to work for lower wages, 

    • This would reduce the number of jobs for native-born workers

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

• The growth of the Chinese population in the United States made some people in the West fearful 

  • It led to hostility from many Americans, particularly on the West Coast to Chinese immigrants

• In response to this anti-Chinese sentiment, the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

  • This was the first law enacted to restrict immigration based on nationality

  • It banned the immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years

  • It prohibited Chinese immigrants from becoming US citizens

• The Act was renewed and expanded over time until it was fully repealed in 1943

• It contributed to racial discrimination faced by Chinese immigrants 

Assimilation 

• Assimilation was the process of encouraging immigrants to adapt to American culture. Assimilation was achieved through:

  • teaching language courses

  • adopting American customs

  • abandoning aspects of their native culture

• Supporters of assimilation believed that by helping immigrants become “Americanized”, they would be able to integrate more easily into society and contribute to the nation’s success

• Jane Addams was a social reformer and a key figure in the effort to help immigrants assimilate

  • She founded Hull House in 1889 in Chicago, a settlement house that was designed to help immigrants settle in and adapt to US life

  • Hull House offered many services to immigrants, including:

    • language classes to teach English

    • employment office to help find jobs

    • childcare for working parents

    • trade schools to provide vocational training

  • Hull House was an important institution in promoting social welfare and helping immigrants adjust to life in the United States while maintaining some cultural ties